In the past century, narrow band communication sufficed for many industrial applications. Copper cables were laid over great distances since they optimally met the desired requirements. Today, though, continually more control systems, industrial PCs and comparable components communicate with each other or with a control center via Ethernet. The volume of data to be transmitted has thus multiplied. The need for broadband communication is continuously growing. New communication lines are thus no longer being constructed with copper but instead frequently with fiber optic cables. Replacing old, previously laid copper lines with modern fiber optic cable is often expensive and time-consuming. Hence, modern high-speed communication is in many cases realized using the old existing copper lines.
Even if high rates of data can nowadays be transferred at fast speed over old copper lines, such as with modern modulation processes like DSL, for example, there is the problem of the copper wires also transmitting electromagnetic interference, including for example surges caused by distant lightning strikes, which in turn can damage the communication module. The use of appropriate overvoltage protection is thus a basic element of many industrial wired telecommunication applications. A separate overvoltage protection can be used for communication modules. This overvoltage protection does not encompass any communication interface to the communication module.
Printed publication DE 200 01 752 U1 discloses an overvoltage protection magazine and a junction mechanism for telecommunications technology. The overvoltage protection magazine can be rack-mounted to a supporting element and is connected to a junction block and, if applicable, to a cable connector to form a connection system.